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Alexander Industries. Records, 1904-1976. Collection Number: MSS 0056 Size: 4 c.f. ABSTRACT: Alexander Film Company was founded by J. Don and Don M. Alexander in Spokane, Washington in 1919 and moved to Englewood, Colorado in 1923. With the development and manufacture of the Eaglerock airplane, the brothers also founded the Alexander Aircraft Company and the corporate name of Alexander Industries was adopted in 1924. Both the film and airplane companies were included in the corporation. In 1928 the corporation was moved to Colorado Springs after fire destroyed the Englewood plant. The corporation was dissolved in 1932 when the airplane firm filed for bankruptcy, leaving the Alexander Film Company as a single firm incorporated under Delaware corporate laws. The collection contains the correspondence of J. Don Alexander from 1921 to 1945, the bulk of the material falling between 1921 and 1932. Also included within the collection are photographs, magazine articles, clippings, scrapbooks and miscellaneous papers covering a period from 1904 to 1976, and publications and promotional materials related to the Alexander business endeavors during a period from the 1920s to the 1950s.
Administrative History
ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY: Founded in Spokane, Washington in 1919 by J. Don Alexander and his brother Don M. Alexander, the Alexander Film Company became the world's largest producer of theater film advertising before its demise in the 1960's. As boys in Keokuk, Iowa, the brothers had used a French stereopticon projector to show colorful slides and advertisements for local merchants on bed sheets fashioned into movie screens. The merchants paid the boys $4.00 a week for the advertisements. Later, while working as electrical contractors in Spokane in 1919, the brothers purchased a defunct motion picture advertising firm and proceeded to build a successful commercial enterprise on their boyhood experiences. Although the firm made only $2.50 in its first year of operation, the use of advertisements in local movie theaters quickly gained acceptance from businesses and theater owners and the firm began to produce advertising units for local and regional distribution. Each unit produced lasted approximately forty seconds and consisted of two parts - a 26 second "playlet" which demonstrated the product or service and a 13 second "trailer" which identified the sponsor of the film. After its production the film became part of a syndicated film library maintained to service accounts. Movie advertisement campaigns were sold on a yearly basis with a different "playlet" scheduled on a weekly or semi-weekly basis. The client paid for the use of the "playlet," the production of the "trailer" and the display space. Alexander paid the theater for using the film and charged the customer according to the size of the theater, its location, seating capacity and caliber of programming. J. Don headed the sales force for the firm and Don M., being more technically minded, handled the production. This thriving business quickly outgrew the Spokane facilities and in 1923 the Alexander Film Company purchased a studio in Englewood, Colorado. Covering nearly two city blocks and featuring an imposing administration building, the larger facility enabled the firm to expand its sales. J. Don recruited ambitious salesmen through a liberal commission policy and developed sales manuals and training programs to increase their effectiveness. Because he considered train travel too time consuming, he also purchased a second hand airplane for their use on sales trips. Dissatisfied with the performance of the aircraft, however, he asked the company engineers to design a small, lightweight airplane that could be operated with a minimum of expense. The result was the Alexander Eaglerock which was first flown by Joseph Hammer, a test pilot, in September of 1925. Forseeing a market for the sale of the Eaglerock to small businesses and individual owners, the brothers developed plans to manufacture the plane at the Englewood plant. The Alexander Film Company and the Alexander Aircraft Company became divisions of Alexander Industries which was established as a Colorado Corporation in 1924. After production began, sales of the Eaglerock boomed and the firm became the second largest builder of airplanes in the world with 33 distributors and 143 dealers throughout the nation. Charles A. Lindbergh ordered an Eaglerock for his historic trans-Atlantic flight but, because of a production backlog, the order was refused. Never completely satisfied with the Eaglerock, however, the Alexander brothers asked their designers to develop another aircraft called the Bullet. A low-wing monoplane with the first retractable landing gear, the Bullet was never licensed by the government because of difficulties in bringing it out of a required flat spin. On April 20, 1928 an explosion and fire that killed eleven employees destroyed the paint department of the facility in Englewood. Prior to the disaster, the firm had formulated plans to move to Colorado Springs and had purchased 260 acres of land on North Nevada for a new plant which was under construction. The Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce had purchased an additional 90 acres of land for an airfield and had raised $50,000 in private subscriptions to insure the firm's relocation in the city. Faced with an injunction to close the Englewood plant while an investigation of the fire was conducted, the company's board of directors announced it would move the $750,000 firm and its 300 employees to Colorado Springs immediately. Within twenty four hours a fleet of seventy-five trucks and a crew of employees and volunteers had completed the move to temporary facilities scattered throughout the city. Headquarters were established in the Grace Episcopal Church. Ten months later, on February 10, 1929, five officials of the firm, including J. Don and Don M. Alexander, were found guilty of four violations of the Colorado facilities act and were fined $1,000 each. They were also given suspended jail sentences of ninety days each and manslaughter charges were dropped. Because of the popularity of movie entertainment during the depression years of the 1930's and the war years of the 1940's, the Alexander Film Company enjoyed a sustained growth in the production and sale of its advertising units. In October of 1939 the firm purchased its largest competitor, TAD Screen Advertising Incorporated of Dallas, Texas. The market crash of 1929, however, ended the market for small aircraft. Sales of the Eaglerock and the Bullet dropped and orders were cancelled. To protect the profitable film company which was now subsidizing the production of airplanes, the Alexander Aircraft Company and Alexander Industries filed for bankruptcy and liquidation of its assets in 1932. The surplus material owned by the aircraft company was used to produce the Alexander glider of which more than 500 were made and sold for $375 each. The film company was not affected by the bankruptcy proceeding because it had been reorganized as a separate corporation in 1928. By the early 1950's, the Alexander Film Company was producing between 2,000 an 3,000 films annually to meet the demands of its advertisers and to maintain a library of films covering 8,200 different subjects. Production facilities in Colorado Springs included a large stage capable of housing 32 full size motion picture sets; modern laboratories for complete black and white and color film processing; a sound recording department; and an art department capable of creating cartoon animation, stop motion, backgrounds and other special movie effects. The company also had its own maintenance and engineering department to repair and service equipment and to deign new stage equipment. All of the forms, contracts and company publications were printed in the on-site printing department. The company employed 600 people locally and the annual payroll exceeded $2,500,000. In addition, employees had an insurance plan, a company pension and medical plan, a commissary, a company credit union and an athletic association for after hours recreation. Although films for local and regional advertisers were still distributed from the syndicated library, the company was also producing film for 75 of the nation's leading manufacturers including General Motors, U. S. Rubber, Ford Motor Company, Philco, Hotpoint and Seven-Up. Regional offices in Dallas, New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles were established to enable national advertisers to purchase film or film series featuring their product. These films were offered to local dealers of the product though the Alexander salespeople. The manufacturer paid Alexander Film Company to produce the film and the dealer paid the firm to have the film shown in a local theater. National sales campaigns were arranged through General Screen Advertising, a division of the company located in New York City. With the advent of television and the closing of neighborhood theaters throughout the country, Alexander Film Company turned to producing advertising films for the television market. However, the firm was a non-union organization and because its films did not have a union label they were blacklisted by union technicians and cameramen. When the management of the firm refused to allow its workers to unionize, it became impossible for national advertisers to use Alexander commercials. The firm did have some success in the local and regional television markets of Denver, Salt Lake City, Omaha, Dallas and Oklahoma City, but the competition of local producers pushed Alexander out of the market and the television production business. Following the death of J. Don Alexander in 1955, the company was sold to Harold Kaye of New York City and Don M. became President. Disagreements over management policies created friction between the two men and the Cleveland consulting firm of Fleming, Talbot and Munroe was hired to mediate their differences. In 1957, the film company was sold to Allied Film Company, a firm whose principal stockholders were Fleming, Talbot and Munroe. Keith Munroe, a partner in the consulting firm, was made President and Don M. became the Chairman of the Board. Although the firm again began to produce television commercials and won several prestigious awards for its work, the financial difficulties worsened and many long-time employees were dismissed. In 1963, after the firm was sold to Courtland S. Dietler of Denver, Don M. retired and Munroe resigned as President. Dietler later sold the firm to Motion Picture Advertising of New Orleans and in 1974 it was again sold to Cadence Industries of New Jersey. The new owners announced that all film production would cease and the facilities would be used only for film processing. Although known nationwide for their leadership in the film and aircraft industries, the Alexander brothers also had an early interest in the oil shale industry in Garfield County, Colorado. After making a promotional film for the Monarch Oil Shale Company of Denver, J. Don, impressed with the possibility of using oil extracted from shale as aviation fuel,invested in the Monarch Oil Shale Company and its facility at Debeque, Colorado. He also sought other investors for the firm and encouraged Joseph Ginet, the president and developer of the Ginet refractor used at Debeque, to reorganize his company for immediate expansion. Fearful of Alexander's aggressive plans for his firm, Ginet was reluctant to move and J. Don began leasing and improving his own shale properties in Garfield County. However, the development of new oil reserves in Wyoming and the financial difficulties of Alexander Aircraft brought the interest in oil shale development to a halt. During World War II the Alexander brothers, forseeing a possible shortage in film stock, became interested in the development of the mineral vermiculite as a lightweight building material. They purchased a vermiculite mine near Rosita, Colorado and built a processing plant near Florence, Colorado. Known as PerAleX, the building material sold through the Alexite division of the company and was used by the Army and Navy as a low cost fireproofing material in shipyards and munitions plants. Alexite also sold a fertilizer called Garden Gro. In 195, the Alexite firm was sold to the Lakes Carbon Company of New Jersey and Los Angeles and the fertilizer interests to Simpson and Company of Colorado Springs. J. Don Alexander, an aggressive businessman with a flair for public relations was also active in community affairs, particularly with the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce, the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind, and Junior Achievement. An avid advocate of aviation, he also enjoyed tennis and sailing on his yachts which were named "Three Smiles I" and "Three Smiles II." He married Gertrude Metz in 1905 and had two sons, J. Don, Jr. and John H. Don M. Alexander, a graduate electrical engineer, was also an aviation advocate and in 1971, one year before his death in 1972, was inducted into the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame. He never married. He was also active in the Boy Scouts of America and in 1945 provided leadership and capitol for the establishment of Camp Alexander, a Boy Scout camp located near Lake George, Colorado. SERIES DESCRIPTION AND CONTAINER LISTING: Materials have been separated into series by format and then subdivided by subject. Series are:
Series I -Correspondence and Papers Return to top
SERIES I: Alexander Industries--Correspondence and Papers, 1921-1945 Alexander's correspondence concerning the activities of the Alexander Film Company covers a period from 1934 to 1941. The 1934 material contains information on the firm's dealings with General Screen Advertising of Chicago, Illinois and the principal correspondents are Leonard E. Franseen and M.E. Zetterholm. Negotiations for the purchase of Alexander Film Company stock held by H.E. Holister of Brooklyn, New York and his brother R.R. Holister of Dayton, Ohio are the subject of the material written in 1936 and 1939. Between 1939 and 1941 the material contains correspondence, memos and other material exchanged between Alexander and Edward A. Tunis on Tunis' proposed plans for "consolidation" of the film company. Financial statements of the Alexander Film Company for 1932, 1933 and 1934 and a profit comparison statement for 1934 through 1938 are included. The personal correspondence of J. Don Alexander includes an exchange of letters in 1922 and 1923 with W.R. Boyden. in the letters they discuss Boyden's interest in the Fern Quicksilver Mine in Valley County, Idaho, Alexander's interest in oil shale and their mutual acquaintances. There is also a short series of letters exchanged with Merrill Beckworth of Boulder, Colorado. A 1945 memo to Tom Burgess discusses Alexander's estate. Miscellaneous correspondence includes letters found in the papers of J. Don Alexander. Included in this material is correspondence addressed to Don M. Alexander regarding his nomination to the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame in 1971. Also included is correspondence from Mrs. Lewis D. Pettit of the Ute Pass Historical Society regarding Indian artifacts belonging to J.M. Huiskamp, grandfather of J. Don and Don M. Alexander, on display at the Ute Pass Library.
BOX 1: Return to top .17 cu. ft. This series contains nine folders of miscellaneous materials: financial and stockholders' reports, aeronautical reports, biographies, brochures, programs, etc. which pertain to the business enterprises of the Alexander brothers and the activities of J. Don Alexander. The material is arranged by subject and the subject folders are arranged alphabetically. Stockholder statements for 1929 and 1931, a 1928 report on the firm prepared by the American Agent and Investment Company of Denver, Colorado and a financial report issued by the Los Angeles Stock Exchange in 1929 are included in miscellaneous materials. The items filed under Alexander Film Company include two papers written by Don M. Alexander: (1) "A Commercial Natural Color Process for M.P. Film" and (2) "Use of an Exposure Meter." Also included are a collection of half-tone prints used in many of the publications and promotional materials issued by the firm. The Alexander Aircraft Company material includes a specification order form used for the Eaglerock and a brochure advertising the Alexander Glider. Two 1926 aeronautical reports from the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in Washington, D.C. and an Air Service Information Circular published by the Chief of Air Service in Washington, D.C. are filed under Aeronautical Reports. A program for the Colorado Air Memorial Show held in Colorado Springs in July, 1976 is found under the heading Colorado Air Memorial Show. The material relating to J. Don Alexander in this series includes two biographical accounts, an individual income tax return for 1926, business cards and a program for the dedication of the J. Don Alexander Memorial Campsite by the Pikes Peak Council of the Boy Scouts of America on June 7, 1945. The John Huiskamp Alexander material contains a birth announcement for his daughter and a letter from Lawrence C. Means, Lt. Col., USAF regarding the Peterson Field Aviation Center in Colorado Springs.
BOX 2: Return to top .35 cu. ft. The material in this series is divided into two parts: (1) magazines which are arranged alphabetically by title and (2) newspaper clippings arranged alphabetically by subject. Aviation magazines published in 1930 which contain articles or references to the Alexander Aircraft Company and its airplanes include "Western Flying," "Aviation Engineering," "Aeronautic Review," and "Aviation." Retrospective articles are found in the 1971 issue of "Hanger Flying," and the 1975 issue of "Pilot." The newspaper clippings are arranged by subject and cover a period from 1926 to 1976.
BOX 3:
Return to top .17 cu. ft. There are a total of forty-three booklets in the series. This series contains one complete set of the fifteen training course booklets and three incomplete sets. Developed by J. Don Alexander, this sales training course was presented in fifteen booklets which emphasized the techniques of successful salesmanship. The program was presented to Alexander salesmen and was also available as a correspondence course. BOX 4: Sales training booklets
Return to top .17 cu. ft. J. Don Alexander wrote three Alexander Film Sales Manuals which are filed in this series. The first manual was written in November of 1921 in Spokane Washington and appeared in mimeograph form. A revised issue was published in Denver, Colorado in 1925 and a third revised issue was printed in Colorado Springs in 1932. The manuals are illustrated with some of the drawings found in the Alexander Film Company scrapbook and the half-tones found in Box 2. The manuals are filed in chronological order. Also included in this series are two related booklets entitled "Success Policies for Members" and "Feeding Ambition with Gold." BOX 5: Sales manuals Return to top .35 cu. ft. Approximately 157 photographs and eleven negatives taken by both amateur and professional photographers are in the Alexander collection. They are arranged by subject in alphabetical order. All of the photographs, with the exception of those taken at the Colorado Memorial Air Show in 1976, are black and white prints. Members of the Alexander family -- J. Don Alexander, Don M. Alexander, John Huiskamp Alexander and Mrs. J. Don Alexander (Gertrude Metz) -- are pictured in many of the photographs. Other subjects include the Alexander Electric Company and the early film factory in Spokane, the company's plant and personnel in Denver and the Colorado Springs facility. Photographs of airplanes in popular use in the 1920s -- the Diggs Coupe, Cessna AW, Curtiss O-1 Falcon, Ryan B-5 -- in addition to models manufactured by the Alexander firm -- are filed in this series. Two photographs of Eddie Rickenbacker with a Diggs Coupe also included. Some photographs of equipment in the 1920s have been transferred to the photograph file in Special Collections.
BOX 6: Return to top .25 cu. ft. This series contains copies of the "Weekly Animator" published by the Alexander Film Company for its employees and salesmen. Although there is no complete set for a single year, the collection includes issues from 1925, 1933-1934, 1943, 1946-1954, 1956-1958 and 1960-1961. Some of the issues are xerox copies of issues belonging to Mr. Leland Feitz which have been removed from the Local History periodicals and placed with the material donated by the Alexander family. The material is arranged chronologically. BOX 7: Weekly Animator issues
Return to top .25 cu. ft. The "Cooperator," a monthly publication, was dedicated to the interests of customers, theatres and other friends by the members of the Alexander Film Company. Included in this collection are eleven issues from the year 1925 (all but the June issue), the December 1928 issue, the September and October issues of 1929, and the November 1931 issue. They are arranged in chronological order. The "Merchandizer," published bi-monthly, was a later publication of the Alexander Film Company for its friends and customers. Also arranged chronologically, the collection includes scattered issues from 1950 through 1957. Some of the issues are xeroxed copies of originals belonging to Mr. Leland Feitz.
BOX 8:
Return to top .25 cu. ft. A monthly magazine published by the Alexander Aircraft Company for its dealers, customers and friends, the "Aircrafter" contains information and photographs on the airplane manufactured by the firm. Included are scattered issues from the years 1926-1930 and one undated catalog edition. An undated Alexander Eaglerock catalog giving construction details for the aircraft is also included. The material is arranged chronologically. BOX 9: Alexander Aircrafter issues
Return to top .35 cu. ft. In addition to newspapers and magazines, the publications division of the Alexander Industries provided promotional materials for both the film company and the aircraft company. Among the items in the folder for the aircraft company are mimeographed sheets of testimonials from pilots who have flown the Flyabout, a pamphlet in Spanish on the Eaglerock Bullet (also known simply as the Bullet), and a booklet of articles and testimonials for the various Alexander airplanes. The Alexander Film Company, besides being "the world's largest" film company, was a tourist attraction in Colorado Springs and conducted public tours through its facilities. Included in this material are brochures presented to tour participants, as well as promotional pamphlets for salesmen and potential customers. Several of the materials in the series have been added to the Alexander Industries collection in the Local History pamphlet file.
BOX 10:
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SERIES XI: Alexander Industries -- Scrapbooks Two scrapbooks, one for the film company and another for the aircraft company comprise the contents of this series. The film company scrapbook contains letters of recommendation written between 1919 and 1923, reproductions of publicity letters and copies of trademarks, signature cuts and the stick-figure drawing used in many of the company's publications. A scrapbook for the aircraft company contains clippings which cover the period of 1927, 1928 and 1929. Included are clippings about the company and its aircraft and advertisements for its distributors. Because of water damage and the brittle newspaper clippings, this scrapbook is in poor condition. In 1988, Leland Feitz donated two black looseleaf binders with biographical and publicity information regarding Alexander Industries and Leland Feitz, covering the years 1951-1963; these two notebooks have been added to this series.
BOX 11:
BOX 12: Return to top .17 cu. ft. A cocktail napkin bearing the "2 Smiles" slogan used by J. Don Alexander, two pairs of aviator goggles popular in the 1920s and a folder bearing a Swiss bank account number are included in this series. BOX 13: Ephemera Return to top RESTRICTIONS: There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the collection is open to all members of the public. However, the researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection. PROCESSING: This collection was processed and the finding aid written by Mary Davis in 1983. SUBJECT HEADINGS: J. Don Alexander (1885-1955) Don M. Alexander (1893-1972) Alexander Industries Alexander Aircraft Company Alexander Film Company Alexander Eaglerock Alexander Bullet (sales training manuals) CITATION: Alexander Industries Records, 1904-1976. MSS 0056. Special Collections, Pikes Peak Library District. |